The New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA) expresses deep concerns for the current state of our nation due to the riot that President Trump incited in Washington, DC on Wednesday, which delayed the country’s certification of the electoral ballots in favor of President-Elect Joe Biden. This refusal of a peaceful transfer of power is not reflective of the morals upon which our country stands and is a blatant display of domestic terrorism.
As local elected officials, we realize the importance of working together with those on the opposite side of the political aisle to come together for the greater good of our constituents. Unfortunately, the behavior displayed in our nation’s capital yesterday has become all too familiar. This careless charge to violently express the disdain some may have in reference to this country’s democratic process sets us back tremendously and puts many of our federal representatives, law enforcement officers, and civilians in great danger. What was displayed in our nation’s capital was the polar opposite of what our country needs to move forward.
The NJUMA recognizes the disparate treatment of our citizenry when we have watched 5,000 national guardsmen teargassing protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement, a reaction relegated to communities of color peacefully protesting in Washington, DC last year; opposed to the stark contrast of how the mostly white rioters who destroyed federal property were treated, as they took selfies with law enforcement officers, and took over offices and meeting spaces of our federal representatives. We have seen examples of this behavior spread across the nation in our local cities and towns since Wednesday’s riot; NJUMA is prepared to protect our citizens and will not tolerate anarchist behavior in our communities.
We will continue to strive for fair and equal treatment of all of the nation’s residents and look forward to the days ahead when a more politically astute and civilly-poised President takes the seat to govern the great nation of the United States of America.